How Plugins Can Compromise Your Website Security

WordPress plugins can be incredibly helpful when it comes to launching your WordPress website. Plugins allow you to do all kinds of useful and functional things that would otherwise require a lot of programming. However, you need to make sure that you’re careful when choosing the plugins that you use on your website, as they can cause conflicts and put your site security at risk.

WordPress plugins save significant amounts of time because they are already programmed and don’t have to be created from scratch. However, when being used their code is sometimes not very secure.

This can increase your website’s vulnerability to attacks. More code means that there are more opportunities for hackers to take advantage of weaknesses.

In order to maintain your WordPress plugins, you need to keep them updated regularly. If plugins remain on your website without being updated, they become full of weaknesses which hackers can use to gain access. Always disabled and remove any plugins that you don’t use.

Review all plugins before installing

You can actually prevent a lot of problems simply by using plugins sparingly. Always do research before installing a new plug. Learn about the author of the plugin and see if they have also developed other WordPress plugins. Checking reviews can often tell you if other users have had security issues.

You should also check to see how often the plugin is updated. If there are no updates, or it has been a very long time since the last update, it could indicate that the plugin developer is slow or unresponsive when it comes to updating their plugin.

Remove old plugins

If your website has WordPress plugins that you don’t use anymore, delete them. One of the biggest risks to your website security is running old plugins full of old code hackers can use to reach the security of your website. Regularly check for old plugins and remove them completely if unused.

Do you really need the plug in?

Shopping for WordPress plugins can be fun. Many plugins are offered for free, but always resist the temptation to go overboard installing new plugins. Every time you consider a new plugin, ask yourself if you really need it. Do you want it because it’s crucial or just because it’s cool? Before installing the new plugin, also check to see if there is a similar plugin that might be better, more popular, or have better security.

If you’re unsure about a plugin for your website, always feel free to contact us. We’re here to be your resource for anything website related.